Curtain-fixture



(No Mdel.)

A. M. HAS-WELL. GURTAI-NFIXTURB.

Patented Mar. 22, 1892.

IINTTED STATES ALFRED M. HASWELL, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

CURTAIN- FIXTURE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 471,114, dated March 22, 1892.

Application led November 16, 1891. Serial No. 411,970. (No model.)

`this stick will be guided as the shade is raised 5o To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALFRED M. HAswnLi., a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Curtain Fixtures; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to window curtains or shades, and more especially to the fixtures used in connection therewith; and the object thereof is to produce an improved guide for the edges of the shade as it moves up and down over the window. This object I accomplish by the construction hereinafter more fully described in detail, set forth in the claims, and illustrated on the accompanying sheet of drawings, wherein- Figure l is an elevation of a window, showing a shade hung therein on an ordinary spring-roller and guided by my improved devices along the vertical edges of the curtain. Fig. 2 is an enlarged perspective detail of one of the brackets. Fig. 3 is a similar view of one of the tighteners, looking slightly from the under side and illustrating the manner in which the wire is tied. Figdis a plan View of the blank from which one of the clasps is formed. Fig. 5 is a perspective detail of the clasp complete and mounted on the end of the 'curtain-stick, and Fig. 6 is an end elevation showing how the stick and clasp must be turned to disengage said clasp from the wire.

In the usual fixtures a, mounted on a Window-frame, is journaled an ordinary springroller b, or it may be a roller having cords by which it can be operated or provided with counterbalancing-weights, or otherwise. The shade c is secured at its upper end to this roller and at its lower end carries a stick el, preferably having a tassel or ring e, by which it may be handled.

The present invention contemplates the provision of guides standing along the vertical sides of the frame, whereby the ends of and lowered, the object being that the stick, and hence the lower end of the shade, will not be able to swing to and fro either in the wind or under the force of any other power, and hence cannot become tangled with the lace or other curtains and cannot have its own edges torn or disfigured. Heretofore such guides have been made by stretching a wire tightly along each vertical side of the window-frame, sustaining its upper end by a bracket, and applying to its lower end a tightener, and a clasp on theendofthesticklooselyengagedsaidwire. In the present case I use practically the same general idea, with improvements in the construction of the bracket and the tightener and such an alteration in the construction of the clasp that it may be disconnected from the guiding-wire at any time and point desired without loosening or in any manner affecting the fastenings at the ends of said wire. The resulting advantages are neater and more serviceable parts of the device, fasteners for the wire ends that cannot possibly catch the clasp when either raised or lowered, and the possibility of removing the shade from the wire at will, as for cleaning or repair, in fact of removing the roller as well, all without disarranging the parts of the device or interfering with the adjustment of the tension of the wire. l

It will be understood thatthere are two devices such as described below, one at each side of the window-frame, as seen in Fig. l, and as they are duplicates a reference to one will suffice for both.

The bracket (best seen in Fig. 2) consists of a single piece of sheet metal having a foot f p at its upper end, provided with a hole, through which is passed a screw that takes into the window-frame to hold the bracket in place. From this foot depends an oblique arm g, whose lower end is bent into a horizontal plane, as at h, so as to form a small lip, the

same being provided with a perforation ofV proper size to receive the wire i', which is passed upwardly therethrough and knotted,

as at j in Fig. 1. The rear or inner edge of this lip h is cut away, as at k, so that it lits nicely over the upper edge or endof the adjacent fixture a, as seen in dotted lines in Fig. 2, and by this means not only is the bracket strengthened and supported by the llxture, but the latter is prevented to a certain extent from becoming loose from the windowframe.

llhe tightener (best seen in Fig. 3) conr prises two members. The lower one lis simply a stiff L-shaped piece of metal, (or a casting, if desired,) through whose depending arm 1s passed a screw taking into the windowframe to hold the tightener in place and through whose upper and horizontal arm is a screw-threaded hole m. The upper member a is also of L shape; but its vertical arm projects upwardly and slides against the face of the window-frame. Its lower and horizontal arm has a smooth hole o, and p is a screw pass- 1n g downwardly through this hole and taking into that lettered fm, whereby when the screw is turned in the proper direction the two members can -be adjusted, as desired, to tighten the wire t, the upper member being obviously drawn down toward the lower when the screw 1s turned. The front end ot' said lower member 1s preferably rounded, as shown, for the sake of ornamentation; but the front end oi' the upper member is reduced or beveled on its side edges to a narrow neck q, forward of which it is enlarged to form a head r, one of whose sides is quite long, as seen at s. The wire t as it passes down from the bracket is led through the deeper notch-that is, under the longer side S of the head-passed thence beneath the neck q, up the other notch, across on top of the head r and in front of the wire body, and then again down through the deeper notch, and its extremity t is bent under the head s, as seen. This forms a very strong,r fasteningfor the lower end of the wire,leaves no projecting ends to tear the curtains, shade, or clothing or to catch on the clasp, hereinafter described, is neat in appearance, and can be tied by the hand without the use of any tools. After such tying the screw p is adjusted to give the wire the proper tension and all is ready for the shade. However, I do not conline myself to this specific manner of secu'rlng the wire to the tightener, as any other suitable means may be employed without departing from the spirit of my invention; but I prefer that described.

From a piece of sheet metal shaped about as seen 1n Fig. et is cut each of the clasps, its body being afterward bent into the shape shown in Fig. 5 and secured on the end of the stick d by a split pin u, as shown, or any other desired means. From the body of this clasp are cut two oppositelydisposed L- shaped tongues c, which when bent out properly stand beyond the end of the finished clasp with their open sides opposite and their feet projecting toward each other, as seen in Fig. C. The wirevl passes under these tongues and between them and the end of the claspbody, where it has free and uninterrupted play; but if it becomes desirable at any time to disconnect the shade and stick from the wire it may be done by disconnecting the clasp from the wire and leaving the said clasp on the end of the stick. rl`he latter is simply turned, as seen in this figure, and when the passage-way between the feet of the tongues is brought just over the wire the latter is sprung out a trifle and the clasp is simultaneously drawn in, the result being the parts are disconnected without the least trouble and without stretching the wire or loosening 01 removing any of the parts of the entire device. The body of the clasp is also preferablyformed with sharp-pointed teeth or prongs w, which embed the end of the stick, whereby the clasp is prevented 'from slipping on the same, as it might do if the only fastener used between these two members were the split pin u, or its equivalent, located at or about the point shown. In use after a shade has been provided with these guides it can be raised and lowered without its possible disorder, either because the shade or the stick strike something in their movements or because they swing in the window when open. lf the wire becomes loose, it can be readily tightened by turning the screw in the tightener, When it becomes necessary to remove the shade, it can be accomplished without touching the wire or its supports.

The device can be applied to shades when they are first put up, or it can be made and sold as an article ol manufacture, as it is readily applicable to all shades now in common use, substantially in the manner and for the purposes set forth above. i

l. In a window-shade guide, the combination, with a vertical guide-wire carried by the window-frame at the edge of the shade, of a clasp secured to the end of the stick and having projecting from its corners oppositely-disposed tongues, each standing beyond the end of the clasp and extending across said end, the whole forming a loose guide for the wire and adapted to free said wire when the clasp is turned to an oblique position, substantially as set forth.

2. ln a window-shade guide, the combinan tion, with the curtain-fixture, the shade having a clasp, and the tightener, of a bracket composed of a single piece of metal having a foot, a screw passing through said foot into the windowframe above said fixture, an oblique arm depending from the foot and having a horizontal perforated lip at its lower end, the lip being cut away at its rear edge to pass over said fixture, and a guide-wire passing through said perforation and extending to the tightener, substantially as set forth.

S. ln a window-shade guide, the combinad tion, with a vertical guide-wire carried by the IOO IIO

WindoWfrarne at the edge of the shade, of a Wire When the clasp is turned to an oblique clasp secured to the end of the stick and having projecting from its corners oppositely-disposed tongues, each standing beyond the end of the clasp, extending across said end, and having a foot at its extremity turned toward the other tongue, the Whole forming a looseV guide for the Wire and adapted to free said position, substantially as set forth. I0

In testimony whereof I affix my signatu re 1n presence of two Witnesses. A

ALFRED M. HASWELL. Witnesses:

HENRY H. ONEILL, A. S. WARNER. 

